North Carolina
Virginia
No. 10 Tar Heels Rally Late To Beat No. 11 Virginia
September 22, 2002 | Field Hockey
Sept. 22, 2002
CHAPEL HILL - The North Carolina field hockey team scored all three of its goals in the final eight minutes of play Sunday to defeat Virginia 3-1 in an Atlantic Coast Conference game at Francis E. Henry Stadium. The 10th-ranked Tar Heels improved to 5-3 on the season and are 1-0 in ACC play. No. 11 Virginia is now 4-3 (0-1 ACC).
The Tar Heels had plenty of chances to score early, with 14 shots and nine penalty corners in the first half. It was Virginia that broke the scoreless tie, however, in the game's 58th minute of play. On a UNC penalty corner attempt, Virginia's Cara Unterkofler stole the ball at the top of the circle before Carolina could get a shot off. The Cavaliers quickly passed downfield and junior Katie Nicholson fed the ball to freshman Katie Phillips, who scored from the left side of the goal.
Trailing 1-0, Carolina took just over four minutes to score a goal of its own. Virginia goalkeeper Emily White saved two rapid-fire Tar Heel shots but the third, by sophomore Kerry Falgowski, got past her and into the goal in the 63rd minute of play. Less than a minute later, UNC scored again, this time on a penalty corner. Senior Meredith Keller stopped the push-in, dribbled to her right then powered the ball in for UNC's second goal. The Tar Heels closed out the scoring with just over three minutes remaining in the game. On a penalty corner, Falgowski tipped in Stephanie Fuller's shot to put Carolina up 3-1.
"I'm proud of the team for coming from behind to win," UNC coach Karen Shelton said. "We didn't play well early, but Virginia had a lot to do with that. Virginia came in very motivated and gave us a lot to handle."
The win topped off a successful weekend for UNC. After a loss to Penn State a week ago, Carolina had dropped to 10th in the national poll, the program's lowest ranking since the 1980s. Coming into the weekend with a 3-3 record, the Tar Heels upset No. 2 Old Dominion 2-0 on Saturday before picking up Sunday's important ACC win.
"It was crucial for us to have good performances this weekend ," Shelton said. "Our backs were against the wall. ODU was a huge win for us and beating Virginia was very significant, too. This weekend will help prepare us for some more big weekends we have coming up."
Next up for the Tar Heels is another weekend of home games. On Saturday, UNC hosts William & Mary at 11 a.m. On Sunday, Carolina hosts Wake Forest for a 1 p.m. ACC matchup.
No. 10 North Carolina 3, No. 11 Virginia 1
Scoring: UVA-Katie Phillips (Katie Nicholson), 2nd, 57:58 into match; UNC - Kerry Falgowski, 2nd, 62:09 into match; UNC - Meredith Keller, 2nd, 63:15 into match; UNC - Falgowski (Stephanie Fuller), 2nd, 66:49 into match
Shots: UNC 24, UVA 11
Goalkeeper saves: UNC (Amy Tran) 5, UVA (Emily White) 11
Penalty corners: UNC 15, UVA 5
